FMC Corp Second Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, July 31, 2012. FMC is a chemical manufacturing company that offers solutions, applications and products to agricultural, consumer and industrial markets around the world. .

FMC Corporation Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is for net income of 90 cents per share, a rise of 18.4% from the company’s actual earnings for the year-ago quarter. The average estimate is the same as three months ago. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate was unchanged. It also has not changed during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 16.7% compared to last year’s $3.49.

Past Earnings Performance: The company has beaten estimates the last four quarters and is coming off a quarter where it topped forecasts by 4 cents, reporting profit of 97 cents per share against a mean estimate of net income of 93 cents per share.

Stock Price Performance: Between April 30, 2012 and July 25, 2012, the stock price fell $56.40 (-51.1%), from $110.45 to $54.05. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between July 11, 2012 and July 19, 2012, when shares rose for seven straight days, increasing 7.9% (+$4.03) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between April 27, 2012 and May 9, 2012 when shares fell for nine straight days, dropping 6% (-$6.71) over that span.

A Look Back: In the first quarter, profit rose 26.7% to $119.1 million ($1.71 a share) from $94 million ($1.30 a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 18.3% to $940.7 million from $795 million.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $901.4 million in revenue this quarter, a rise of 11% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $3.74 billion for the year, a rise of 10.7% from last year’s revenue of $3.38 billion.

Key Stats:

On the top line, the company is looking to build on four-straight revenue increases heading into this earnings announcement. Revenue rose 4.6% in the second quarter of the last fiscal year, 11.6% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year and 12.1% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year before increasing again in the first quarter.

Analyst Ratings: With six analysts rating the stock a buy, none rating it a sell and three rating the stock a hold, there are indications of a bullish stance by analysts.

Balance Sheet Analysis: The company’s current ratio of assets to liabilities came in at 2.12 last quarter. Having a ratio above 2:1 is usually considered a good indicator of a company’s liquidity and ability to meet creditor demands.